Actress and animal behavior researcher Isabella Rossellini reveals top tip

Many people know Isabella Rossellini as a legendary model and actress, but some don't know her second role as an animal behaviorist.

Rossellini, 72, appeared at the Museum of Science in Boston on Tuesday, October 22, for a discussion with Dr. Brian Hare, author of Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising an Awesome Dog.

In the discussion it was Death suits her The actress opened up about her love of training service dogs and revealed the unexpected canine visit she received at Christmas while volunteering for the Guide Dog Foundation.

“Generally they send me a pregnant dog two weeks before the puppies are born. Then she gets the puppies and I send them all back to the Guide Dog Foundation when they are six weeks old (for training),” Rossellini told the crowd. “Two years ago they called me on Christmas Day and I’m Catholic. They said, 'There's a breeder dog that has no place to stay.' I said, 'Of course Rosie can come!'”

Rosie had 12 puppies in her first litter and 4 in her second. Rossellini plans to adopt Rosie as her beloved pet once the pup retires from breeding future guide dogs through the Guide Dog Foundation.

The daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman and filmmaker Robert Rossellini conclave Star says she has “never been without a dog in her life.”

“I always had dogs, cats, hamsters and little birds,” Rossellini told PEOPLE. “As I got older and worked less as a model and actress, I went back to university and completed my master’s degree in ethology, the science of animal behavior.”

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Rossellini has been volunteering to train future service dogs for 20 years. The animals help people from veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to people with visual impairments. In addition to the dog that Rossellini cares for the Guide Dog Foundation, she owns two mixed-breed dogs: Darcy, who is trained as an acrobat, and Pinnochio, a rescue dog that Rossellini found on the street.

Although she doesn't focus on a specific breed, Rossellini said she would like to one day get a sheepdog to help raise sheep on her farm, where she also has chickens, goats and even bees. (“They’re not very friendly,” she remarks.)

As for her expert dog training tips, Rossellini recommends people choose their future puppy based on the dog's temperament rather than their appearance.

“I think there is a lot of ignorance about dogs and we generally choose them based on their looks these days, which is bad. Choose them based on their temperament rather than their looks,” Rossellini shared. “We have bred bulldogs, French bulldogs and English bulldogs, but these dogs are suffering tremendously because they cannot breathe. But we bred her this way because we just like the way she looks, and the dog has tremendous difficulty.”

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Rossellini recommends that those adopting their next dog from a rescue consult with the shelter about which puppy would be a good fit for their family.

“When you adopt a dog, you can say, 'I have kids, I have cats,' and you can find a dog that fits your lifestyle instead of just picking the dog that looks cute,” Rossellini noted.